In my previous U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,037,337 and 4,123,861, there is set forth a digging bucket having a V-shaped leading edge which forms the bucket lip. Digging teeth are arranged on the lip whereby opposed outer teeth are positioned above and forwardly of any adjacent, opposed inner teeth. A bucket having this configuration exhibits exceptional digging efficiency; and when the bucket is provided with properly designed teeth, the bucket efficiently cuts in rock-like formation, as well as efficiently handling plastic-like material.
When digging into a rock-like formation with the above described digging bucket, the bottom of the ditch is formed into a V, with each side of the V being a plurality of ledges arranged in stair-step relationship respective to one another. As the ditch is further excavated, each of the digging teeth accordingly must remove material from the bottom and sidewall which forms a ledge, there being no opposite sidewall for the tooth to encounter, except for the lowermost digging tooth, which forms the central portion of the ditch.
It would therefore be desirable to have made available a special digging tooth designed to cut the sidewall and bottom of each of the ledges, with the material being excavated in an efficient manner, and the excavated material being moved inwardly and upwardly following the cutting action of the teeth.
A digging tooth and shank combination for performing such an operation is the subject of this invention.